Confession Time
by arisuali
Summary: An outburst from an Evil Boy Genius gets Rai thinking... rated T for gayness. Tis oneshot


The first XS fanfic I ever wrote...man, Jaimundo is awesome...

Reviews not required, but still greatly appreciated =)

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"I love you!"

Raimundo's face contorted into an expression of intense shock long before he finally got out the courage to turn around and face the owner of the voice behind him. The person in question was flushing the same colour as his hair, black-clad hands clenched at his sides.

"E-excuse me?" Rai's accent was thickened with incredulity and confusion, and he mentally kicked

himself. How could anyone have understood what the hell he was saying?

Jack Spicer let out a small groan of embarrassment before he turned on his heel and fled, black trenchcoat billowing out behind him, leaving a startled and deeply perplexed Rai staring after him.

***

"So, you like him then? You think he is warm?"

Rai sighed deeply, a slight smile on his face as he corrected the little monk for the thousandth time. "It's 'hot', Omi. And I don't know. He's just…Spicer."

"I am sure that he used to think of you as just Raimundo. Sometimes things change, my friend. Maybe it is time for you to step back and observe the situation."

"OK. Maybe I'll do that."

***

"DAMMIT!!!" Jack's fist crashed down onto the table in front of him, sending a bolt of pain shooting up his arm. "Ouch!" the teenager whined, curling up into a ball and sucking his knuckles. He had no idea what the hell had possessed him to say anything to the Brazilian boy. It had been a stupid, stupid risk to take, the odds had been too high, and now he would no doubt suffer the price for his foolish slip of the tongue. Raimundo was probably telling the other Dragons right now, and there would be hell to pay next time they met.

Jack groaned and put his head in his hands, trying very hard not to cry. A month. It had been almost exactly four weeks since he realised that his feelings for the Air Dragon went deeper than just resentment or loathing. Much, much deeper. To his own annoyance, he'd found that the tan-skinned boy was taking up an increasing space in his mind, until it got to the point where Raimundo was all he could think about. To the point where he would throw himself even more eagerly into the search for the Shen Gong Wu just for an excuse to see the Brazilian's face again: to give himself more material for his late-night fantasies that were becoming progressively more common.

It was a depressing realisation that he couldn't keep his deepest secret to himself for longer than four weeks. And to confess it to the very person he least wanted to know-! It was a move that screamed idiocy. Jack closed his eyes and went back over the events in his mind.

He had seen Rai hanging back from the group, had seen a worried glance back in his direction as he lay on his back after his defeat in the showdown. It was this concern that had prompted him to shout the boy's name.

"Hey, Raimundo! Can I talk to you for a minute?"

Raimundo's eyes had narrowed slightly in suspicion, but he'd motioned to the others to go ahead without him, before taking a few cautious steps towards the older boy.

"What do you want?" he'd asked warily in the accented voice that Jack had grown to long for, often taunting him mercilessly just to hear him speak.

Jack had bit his lip as he ran his eyes over the slightly shorter boy, his gaze fixing on the protruding bottom lip that captured his attention far too often for it to be considered normal, and the emerald green eyes that glittered with a strange light, rendering him speechless.

"Spicer, if you're just going to stand there and stare at me, I'm afraid I have to tell you that I have better things to do with my time." Rai turned to walk away and suddenly Jack's vocal chords unclogged and his voice burst out of his throat.

"I love you!"

Rai has turned painfully slowly, a horrified look on his face, and Jack had wished that there was an attachment on his helibot that would somehow allow him to disappear. He'd made a mental note to start work on one as soon as he got back. Or to just remember to bring the Shroud of Shadows with him next time.

"E-excuse me?" The Brazilian accent was more pronounced than usual, and this caused a rush to go through Jack's heart. His voice had disappeared again, and all he could do was turn tail and run like some cowardly dog.

Remembering this was agonising. It was the first time that Jack had cared enough about someone to confess his feelings, and he was sure that it was painfully obvious how inexperienced he was in anything to do with…

Actually, what was it? Not just curiosity, he was sure. Not jealousy either – although Rai's abilities almost exceeded his own, he doubted it was normal to want to kiss someone senseless if you were just jealous of them.

So…

No, it couldn't be.

Could it?

Well, he had said it after all.

***

After an hour of sitting in the gardens and thinking about Jack Spicer, Rai had achieved very little besides an aching butt from sitting still too long. He had run through several possible options in his mind and had come up with a short list:

He could ignore the confession from the strange Goth, forget it ever happened and never mention it again (not likely, now that Omi knew about it)

He could simply laugh it off and dismiss it as a joke (except that he didn't think it was a joke)

He could use it against Jack, tell all the others and gloat whenever they saw him (this wasn't really an option. Despite his faults, Rai wasn't cruel)

He could…

That last option was the most difficult to consider. Rai had known for a long time that girls did nothing for him, but hadn't had the chance to try anything with guys either, so he was at this moment stuck in a place of limbo. This could be the chance he needed to escape from his indecision and finally come to a realisation about himself. But this was Spicer! Spicer, with his strange clothes and even stranger make-up. Spicer, with his weird obsession with machines and anything to do with robots.

Jack wasn't _bad_ looking, just not really what Rai had expected to find in a potential boyfriend candidate. In fact, he looked pretty good without that evil grin on his face. Although he looked quite cool with it, too…

Rai quickly shook his head to clear it. What the hell? Was he actually considering having a relationship with Jack Spicer, Evil Boy Genius and dedicated member of the Heylin side?

He must be going insane.

But there was something about Jack's expression that refused to leave him alone. He couldn't work out whether it was just the fact that it was the first time he'd seen the pale-skinned boy without an evil smirk or whiny grimace, or whether it was that fact that it was the first time he'd seen Jack with a completely honest and open expression. Or maybe it was simply the glint of lust in his eyes that had captured his attention.

Going against the sensible part of his mind, Rai closed his eyes and imagined wrapping his arms around the Heylin boy, holding him close, dispelling his doubts and chasing away his fears with his lips. To his surprise and slight concern, this thought was not altogether disagreeable. In fact, it was almost the opposite.

OK, so he was willing to do that. But that didn't mean anything. It could just be inflamed curiosity. It could be just suppressed teenage sex drive kicking in.

Sex…with Jack Spicer.

Now _that _was an interesting thought.

Holy shit.

"You OK there, partner?"

Raimundo let out a shriek that Jack would have been proud of (what the hell? Was he starting to obsess over him or something?) and jumped three foot into the air. Clay surveyed him with a confused expression, which reminded him of Jack. Again. Damn, why did everything have to remind him of Spicer?

"Figured out how you feel yet?"

"Omi told you?" Rai cried in panic, torn between being furious and being mortified.

"Well, yeah. Was he not s'posed to?"

_Damn monk can't keep his mouth shut._ "No. He wasn't."

"And did you tell him that?"

"No. I didn't think I'd need to. It seems fairly obvious to me."

"Ah," Clay sat down heavily at the base of the tree. "Well, you know Omi. You have to spell things out pretty clear."

Rai couldn't think of a reply to this, so he stayed silent, willing the cowboy to go away, if only so he could continue with his controversial train of thought.

"Seems to me," Clay said, and then stopped, inspecting a small ant struggling to lift a leaf up the trunk of the tree. Rai waited for him to continue. He didn't.

"Yes?"

"Huh? Sorry, was I sayin' somethin'?"

Rai let out an exasperated sigh. "You said 'seems to me'. And then you stopped."

"Oh yeah! Well, like I said, seems to me that you should just go with your heart on this one, Rai."

Rai was dumbstruck. This was the last thing he'd expected to hear.

"Yeah. If you think it's a good idea, go for it. Try somethin' out. Jack seems to like you, though I'm mighty sure I can't figure out why."

The Brazilian jabbed him with his elbow, and Clay laughed, before becoming uncharacteristically sombre again. "You sure he was bein' serious?"

"Positive."

"Well then, how do you feel?"

"I feel…" Rai's thoughts went back to the image of Jack's face, and he was filled with a burning desire to feel that mouth on his. The realisation startled him. "…I don't really know. I mean, I think I like him back, but it's a big gamble. Plus he's Heylin."

"You were Heylin once," Clay reminded him quietly. "How did _that _feel?"

Rai opened his mouth to say 'Horrible', then shut it again and thought properly for a while. "Lonely."

"There you go then." Clay stood up, brushing dirt from his knees. "I reckon the best thing to do would be to go sort this out with Jack, once and for all."

"Yeah, but there's no telling when the next Shen Gong Wu's going to decide to activate."

"You don't have to wait for that. Just go visit him now."

"Er, Clay? Slight problem: I have no idea how to get to his lair."

Clay's face broke into a wide grin. "_You_ don't, but _I _do."

***

Jack ended up stretched out on his bed; coat, boots and goggles in an untidy heap on the floor. His head was resting on his arms as he stared vacantly up at the ceiling. The sound of the door opening jerked him out of his brooding stupor.

"Get lost, Wuya," he snapped. The last thing he needed right now was a smug floating mask hovering over him and making smart comments. There was no response apart from the 'click' as the door swung shut again and quiet footsteps approached him. Jack scowled and turned his head to look at the intruder, before nearly falling off the bed.

"H…hey Spicer," Raimundo said, smiling uncertainly.

"What are you doing here?" Jack retorted sharply, as all his humiliation came flooding back. "Come to taunt me, I suppose? If you have, then you can go away. I'm not in the mood." And he turned over so that his back was to the Brazilian.

"I'm not here to taunt you," came the quiet voice, the accent once again thicker than normal. Jack wondered whether it was disgust or suppressed laughter that did it.

"Then what are you here for? Tell me quickly so you can leave again."

"I wanted to talk to you," the younger boy replied, perching on the duvet. "About today."

"And what makes you think I want to talk to you?"

"Dunno. I just hoped you would, I guess."

Jack stiffened. "And why would you hope that?"

Rai sighed, a strange sound that Jack hadn't heard from him before. "Did you mean it?"

"Mean what?" Jack feigned ignorance.

"Mean what you said earlier." Rai paused. "That you loved me."

The crucial question. And so early in the game too. Jack wasn't sure what answer he was supposed to give to that. Tempting as it was to lie, he found himself telling the truth.

"Yes. I did."

"Oh."

Jack waited, but the other boy didn't say anything more.

"Well, now what? Are you going to laugh at me? It's not my fault, dammit! I didn't mean to! I don't know why the hell I had to fall for you, of all people. It's not like I wanted to. I couldn't help it. I still can't help it. I don't know what to do, but if you want me to deny it or stop then I'm sorry but I can't, I can't do it. I've gone under and it's too late. I'm in too deep."

A silence followed these words. Rai broke it in the end.

"How long, Jack?"

The pale boy realised with a shock that this was the first time the Brazilian had used his first name. Maybe it was this that caused him to be honest again.

"A month."

"That's not long."

"It's long enough."

"How can you be sure?" This question was unexpected, and Jack rolled over to stare up at him as Rai flushed, feeling stupid. "I mean, how do you know that it's not just a crush, or curiosity, or jealousy?" He hadn't meant to add that last point, and braced himself for a quick retort. It didn't come.

"Because usually when I'm jealous of someone I don't want to fuck them senseless," Jack replied bluntly. Rai's heart began to pound.

"You want to fuck me senseless?"

Jack avoided his gaze. "Sometimes," he said. Cautiously, he looked up into the green depths of Raimundo's eyes. Seeing no judgement there, he admitted, "All the time."

Another short, tense silence followed this answer, during which Rai stared at the floor and Jack resumed his study of the ceiling. Neither one wanted to be the one to break it, but both knew that someone had to.

"I…I wouldn't mind that," said Rai quietly. Jack's eyes returned to him, full of disbelief, fear and hope. And desire. That was there too.

"You wouldn't?"

"No. Why did you think I was Wuya?"

"_What_?!" Jack was totally mystified by the strange change of conversation topic, and it must have shown in his face because Rai grinned in amusement.

"When I came in, you thought I was Wuya. Does she usually use the door?"

Jack thought. "No. But what the hell does this have to do anything?"

The Brazilian shrugged. "It doesn't. I was just sick of the tension, so I thought I'd break it."

"Well, it worked, I guess. But you could have picked a less random topic."

"OK. Can I kiss you?"

"You what?"

"Another startling topic change. So can I?"

"Er…well…I…" Rai watched the Evil Genius blush under his gaze. "…if you wanted to…I guess…"

"I do want to. Otherwise I wouldn't have asked."

The silence that followed was heavy with anticipation. Rai rolled his eyes. "Oh, come here."

Jack sat up, hardly daring to breathe as Rai's face came towards him. Warm hands lightly touched his cheeks as a pair of dark-green eyes bored into his own. A brief moment of hesitation followed as they reached the point of no return, before Rai laughed breathlessly and gently pressed his mouth to the older boy's.

This was new. This was beyond new. Rai's lips were soft, so soft, and Jack could feel his body trembling against him with all the pent up emotion that had finally found its release. It took about half a minute before they managed to move, Jack's hands reached up and entwined themselves around Rai's neck, the Brazilian's hands resting on the Goth's hips, pulling him closer and deeper into the embrace.

Eventually they broke apart, panting heavily, still tangled up in each other, faces inches apart as they tried to catch their breath. Slowly the magnitude of what they'd done hit them like someone dropping a house on them one brick at a time, and a deep flush spread across both their faces.

"Bugger," said Rai, making no effort to wriggle out of Jack's arms.

"You said it," Jack agreed, not attempting to free himself either. "I guess there's no going back now."

"Well if we're going to get condemned for it anyway…"

Jack didn't have time to answer before Rai kissed him again, this time more needy and passionate, and the pale skinned boy had to fight not to faint as he felt the Brazilian's tongue slide over his bottom lip, gently coaxing his mouth open. He wondered how evident it was that this was his first kiss. Plotting world domination didn't leave you much time for romance.

"That's enough," Rai said suddenly, pulling back. Jack was suddenly terrified. Had he gone too far? Was the younger boy freaked out? Shit!

"W-why?" Jack managed to stutter.

Rai got up off the bed and walked over towards the exit. As he pulled open the door, he smirked and tossed a comment casually over his shoulder.

"I don't bone on the first date. I'll meet you in the Xiaolin Gardens at eight tomorrow night. See you Jack. Love you!" The last couple of words were a shout as the door closed behind him.

"Love you too!" Jack called back, resisting the urge to jump up and down on the mattress.

After all, that sort of behaviour was hardly fitting for an Evil Boy Genius.

And besides, he was sure he'd get enough practise bouncing up and down on a mattress tomorrow night…

THE END


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